JOLLYBLOGGER

Need some travel advice

Mrs. Jolly and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this summer and are planning on taking a driving tour of New England (after we take out a second mortgage on the house to pay for gas!).  We were wondering if anyone who lives up there or who has traveled in New England and knows that part of the country would care to give us any travel advice.  Any tips on places we just have to see, out of the way places that aren't in the tourist books or anything else that could make the trip exciting would be most helpful.

So - advise away.

IPOD Vending Machine

I'm travelling this weekend, hence the lack of posting.  I'm in Jacksonville, FL attending retirement ceremonies for my old pastor and boss, and current mentor, friend and father in the faith, Rod Whited.  He is retiring after 24 years of service to Pinewood Presbyterian Church in Middleburg, FL.  After this I'll do a repost of an article I wrote in thanks to him. 

For now I wanted to share a pic my wife took in the Atlanta airport yesterday. I got the biggest kick out of this - it's from the "what'll they think of next" department.  It's a vending machine where you can buy Ipods and accessories.  They had the Ipod Mini and Ipod Shuffle and all kinds of accessories.  Wow! What's next?

California Trip - Funny Lines

Jeff Allen is a comedian who performed a few times at the National Pastor's Convention. Here are two of my favorite lines from him.

1. How old was Satan when he rebelled against God and was kicked out of Heaven? 15

2. God created teenagers to show humans what it is like to create something that totally denies your existence.

Califiornia Trip - Shepherd's Conference - The Preaching of John MacArthur

I thought I would devote this blog entry to a description of the preaching of John MacArthur. I had the chance to hear him preach five sermons while in Los Angeles at the Shepherd's Conference. I hope to add a few entries about some of the seminars I attended and some of the other speakers at the conference.

New photos of CA trip

It's getting harder and harder to blog every day - we're keeping busy. But, though I haven't been able to blog much I have gotten some photos up on a new photo blog - check it out here.

California Trip Days 4-7 Blessed Hospitality

When Paul was shipwrecked on Malta he said in Acts 28:2 that “The islanders showed us unusual kindness.” Such was mine and Lynette’s experience during our stay in Los Angeles for the Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church. It is amazing the blessings that God provides through His hospitable people.

Update on California Trip

To those of you who have been reading the blog my apologies for being behind on posting. If you have read some of my entries from this week you know that Lynette and I are in California attending the Shepherd's Conference, sponsored by Grace Community Church where John MacArthur is the pastor. We have just been too busy to post anything these last few days. The schedule has had us going from early morning till late at night.

We are on our way to San Diego this afternoon where we will be attending the National Pastor's Convention and also hook up with our old friend Harriet Klein from Glen Burnie. On the way down there tonight we are going to take a purpose driven side trip to Saddleback Community Church, pastored by Rick Warren - its kind of on the way. It seems that, out here in California, there aren't as many churches as there are back east, but all of the churches are mega-churches. After spending a week with John MacArthur, R. C. Sproul, and Al Mohler, its hard to get pumped about going to Saddleback. But, since Rick Warren is probably the most influential pastor in America right now I figured it would be worthwhile to go and see what all the fuss is about.

This past week in LA has been the closest thing I have had to a mountaintop experience in my adult life. I've been to conferences out the wazoo since I have been an adult, but never one quite like this. I've been to conferences which gave good advice on leadership techniques, conferences that pumped you up with worship music and seminars on particular topics, and conferences where you got to see lots of Christian celebrities (which is like the one we will be going to next week). But there was something extra special about this past week at the Shepherd's Conference. Even though the big dogs were out and barking (MacArthur, Sproul, and Mohler), I came away with a real sense that the Word of God was the star of the show, not the personalities, nor the methods and techniques of the Christian elite. My confidence in the Word of God has always been strong, but in a real sense it has been rekindled.

It was quite an experience to be amongst men whose ministries are driven by the simple exposition of Scripture. There was not a lot of flash here, no bells and whistles, just pure unadulterated preaching of the Scripture. And the Scripture did its work in my life and I am praying that it wil do a work in my ministry.

I'll blog more when we get to San Diego - I hope to share some specific thoughts about the conference as I have time this week.

Just in case you haven't seen them, here are some pictures from earlier in the week. I'll post more as I have time.

California Diary - Day 3

Today was our third day in California - not quite as eventful as yesterday, but fun nonetheless. Today we:
*Visited the Santa Monica Pier
*Visited Venice Beach and saw the famous gym that gave it the name "Muscle Beach."
*Visited the University of Southern California.
*Endured one of the worst meals of our life.
*Got in touch with the artist within.

California Diary - Days 1&2

As most of our family and friends know, Lynette and I are in California this week and next for a couple of pastor's conferences. This week we are attending the Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Chuch in Sun Valley, CA (John MacArthur's church), and next week we will be at the National Pastor's Convention in San Diego. I thought I would update the blog with a travelogue to document our trip and keep family and friends up to date, if they care to know.

So, days 1 and 2 were terrific - we packed more fun and interesting stuff into our first 2 days of this trip than we have experienced in a long time. Here are a few of the highlights:
* Eating the world's best burrito at the airport in Phoenix.
* A ride in a Hummer.
* Going Hollywood.
* A drive down Sunset Blvd.
* Our first visit to a gay boutique.
* Seeing stars.
* Blowing the Atkins diet.
* Meeting interesting people.

For details, read on . . .